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Other entries in Vilna

Aukstaitija NP, Vilnius

10-09-2006 SUN

I arrived back at Kaunas to applauds from people pressed against the wire fences to see their loved ones or may be there was a famous Lithuanian group returning home from London from their triumphant British tour. After the relief of finding the car where I left it and still in one piece, I set off along the A6 to Aukstaitija national park.

Getting to Utena was a breeze. My map covering the whole region was the size of a thumb nail but expecting to find road signs to Lithuania's first national park was a mistake. I aimed for the next best of Ignalina  which according to the map should be a road that cut across the park. I arrived at the village of Paluse in no time.

   I friendly local who had once worked in Stoke-on-Trent showed me around the church. Then I went on a canoe for about an hour in an ill fitting life jacket. I had all these unrealistic expectations of going across the lake but the lake proved to be too huge and the wind too strong for me to cope with.

A jetski would have been good for a voyage of discovery but it wouldn't have done the peace and tranquillity of the place any good. A windsurfer was also zooming around at a rapid rate of knows. At Svencionys, I passed an accident that had just happened. A car was standing on its front like a piece of domino and many passers by were rushing to the scene to help and watch. After all that excitement, I kept on and drove all the way to Vilnius.

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